Key Discussions Underway: Trans-Atlantic Relations and Global Security in Focus
Leaders and dignitaries have convened in Munich for Europe’s premier annual security conference. The mood is one of palpable apprehension concerning the United States’ stance on international affairs, following a year of considerable trans-Atlantic discord. While some attendees express hope for a softer approach from the American administration, others anticipate further contentious rhetoric and actions.
Last year’s conference was marked by a particularly aggressive speech from Vice President JD Vance. Rather than outlining President Trump’s strategy for ending the conflict in Ukraine or discussing European defense against Russia, Vance notably criticized Europe’s migration policies and urged leaders to engage with far-right parties across the continent. This year, neither President Trump nor Vice President Vance are expected to attend. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is the highest-ranking American official present and is scheduled to speak on Saturday.
Notable speakers on Friday included Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Reza Pahlavi, son of the deposed Shah of Iran.
Founded in 1963, the Munich Security Conference traditionally served as an informal forum for discussing global threats. However, President Trump’s challenges to post-World War II institutions and alliances have lent an unprecedented urgency to this year’s proceedings.
Over the past year, the Trump administration has imposed tariffs on European goods, advocated for an end to the Ukraine war on terms largely favorable to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, made threats to acquire Greenland from Denmark, withheld funding from the United Nations, and established a new body to address global conflicts. US support for Ukraine remains unpredictable, and peace negotiations, four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, have seen minimal progress despite extensive diplomatic efforts. Anxiety also looms in the Middle East due to American threats of military action against Iran if nuclear and military capability talks falter. Despite a recent backing down from immediate threats concerning Greenland, European nations remain deeply concerned about the President’s future policy shifts.
Key Insights and Developments:
- Security Order Under Threat: A recent report by conference organizers bluntly stated that “under Donald Trump, the United States has largely abandoned the role of the ‘leader of the free world’” and characterized the American president as a “demolition man.”
- Diverse Global Attendance: Ministers, lawmakers, and other officials from around the globe are participating. Speakers include Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza on Mr. Trump’s Board of Peace, Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York.
- Canceled House Delegation: Speaker Mike Johnson unexpectedly canceled the House delegation to Munich. This decision came amid a looming funding dispute threatening to shut down the Department of Homeland Security this weekend. Leading Democrats criticized the cancellation, deeming it ill-advised during a period of fragile trans-Atlantic relations.
- Joint Appeal for NATO: In a letter timed for the conference opening, eight former American ambassadors and eight former American generals collectively emphasized NATO’s crucial role as the “cornerstone of United States national security” and its “vital” importance for safeguarding American global interests.
Federal Shutdown Reduces US Congressional Presence at Conference
Europe’s largest annual security summit in Munich was expected to host its biggest-ever US congressional delegation this year, with approximately 50 lawmakers planning to attend. Their goal was to reassure allies of America’s reliability as a security and trade partner.
However, Speaker Mike Johnson abruptly canceled the official House delegation of dozens of members, citing an impending funding battle that could shut down the Department of Homeland Security this weekend. While canceling congressional travel during a government shutdown is standard procedure, and a senior House Republican leadership aide confirmed this as the reason, top Democrats viewed the decision as detrimental to already strained trans-Atlantic relations.
Recent months have seen European allies rattled by past events, including Vice President JD Vance’s speech last year and President Trump’s threats regarding Greenland and tariffs on NATO allies.
Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, emphasized the critical importance of continued engagement with partners and allies to project unity and strength on national security matters. He noted that lawmakers could have returned to Washington quickly if a funding deal for homeland security was reached.
Despite the House cancellation, several senators traveled to Germany. Senator Lindsey Graham is leading a bipartisan group of 11 senators, including Sheldon Whitehouse, Lisa Murkowski, Mark Warner, Chris Coons, and Richard Blumenthal. Another bipartisan delegation, led by Senator Jeanne Shaheen, also flew out, with plans to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and the prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland.
Some Democrats privately speculated that Speaker Johnson’s decision might have been a retaliatory measure against their opposition to his immigration policies, noting that the Defense and State Departments, which handle official congressional travel, are fully funded and not at risk of shutdown. Conversely, some Republicans argued that Democrats should not travel given the funding impasse.
Several House members, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, still planned to attend the conference independently to advance progressive foreign policy discussions. Representatives Yassamin Ansari, Jason Crow, and Sara Jacobs also traveled independently, with Ansari and Jacobs scrambling to book commercial flights after the official trip was called off. Ms. Ansari expressed her intent to discuss rebuilding US soft power after a period of “chaotic foreign incursions mixed with isolationist lies.”
European Security Experts Label Trump a ‘Global Wrecking Ball’
In remarkably stark terms, officials at the Munich Security Conference warned that the post-World War II security order, which has underpinned Western and global stability, is under assault from President Trump and like-minded leaders.
A recent 2026 Munich Security Report, authored by conference staff, declared that the world has entered an era of “wrecking ball politics.” The annual gathering, a crucial forum for security officials from Europe, the US, and beyond, was previously disrupted by Vice President JD Vance’s speech last year, which urged European leaders to collaborate with what many considered extreme parties.
This year’s conference has adopted an even more urgent tone, driven by mounting European concerns over Russian military aggression and President Trump’s rapidly shifting security doctrines, including his continued efforts to acquire Greenland from Denmark. The report articulates these concerns in language more direct than many European leaders have typically dared to use.
The authors asserted that, ironically, the US President, whose nation was instrumental in shaping the post-1945 international order, is now its most prominent “demolition man.” They conclude that, after more than 80 years, the postwar international order is now facing destruction, adding that “Under Donald Trump, the United States has largely abandoned the role of the ‘leader of the free world.’”
Matthew Whitaker, the US ambassador to NATO, refuted these characterizations, stating that he did not perceive a world undergoing destruction. He suggested that Trump’s actions were intended to compel Europe to become stronger, comparing it to children learning independence. The report also highlights survey data revealing growing disillusionment among citizens in wealthy democracies, who have lost faith in traditional democratic institutions to resolve issues and improve future generations’ lives. It identifies President Trump and other leaders, such as Argentina’s President Javier Milei, as beneficiaries of these trends. The report further details Trump’s deviations from established postwar practices, including imposing tariffs on allies, inconsistent support for Ukraine against Russia, and significant cuts in aid to impoverished nations.
“Perhaps most shockingly,” the authors wrote, “the U.S. under Trump has now disregarded some of the most basic norms of the post-1945 system: territorial integrity and the prohibition of the threat or use of force against other states.”
Echoing the prevalent sentiment among European leaders, the report warns that these “demolition” policies could usher in a less secure and prosperous world, one governed by transactional agreements rather than principled cooperation, driven by private rather than public interests, and shaped by regional hegemons instead of universal norms. Neither Mr. Trump nor Mr. Vance are slated to attend this year’s conference, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio expected to address the gathering on Saturday.